I have thoughts on the new Pope.
I struggle daily with my personal spirituality. I, like many, desperately want and need something--at the very least a force of good in the world--to believe in. I enjoy thoroughly the Catholic mass; it provides an aura of calm, a moment of refined celebration and an invitation to reflect. All 3 are crucial to a well balanced, meaningful and healthy life. I worry too many Americans--even those that regularly attend services--miss out on these opportunities. I worry that the Church and this Pope will continue to drive diversity from the pews; by getting bogged down in clinging to orthodoxy, the Cardinals missed a moment to be brave and to embrace the beautiful possibility that unity can be more powerful than divisiveness, that tolerance can be more compassionate than fundamentalism, and that love can be more powerful than nearly anything. It's a shame. God Bless.
posted by Rob Moran at 7:33 PM
2 Comments:
While I agree on a personal level, I still must disagree on a larger level. As a former Catholic (born and raised, but left the Church years ago), I also see the election of this Pope as a "mistake". That being said, however, I do not believe that the Catholic Church that should change in order to accommodate its followers, even though I vehemently disagree with some of its teachings.
Right or wrong, the Church has adhered to its primary tenents (with perhaps a notable exception or two) for over 1700 years now. To change some of their core teachings merely to appear to be "getting with the times" and to increase its membership would be disingenuous at a bare minimum. I think when one finds their personal beliefs, spiritual, religious, or otherwise, coming into conflict with the Church's teachings, they should think long and hard about leaving it for another, as I did. That's what Protestantism was founded for. While I disagree with the Catholic Church on many fronts, I respect that it has maintained its core dogma, unfazingly so.
If the Church has you down, I highly recommend an Episcopalian service. It's about as close as one can get to Catholicism sans the ignorance on certain issues. It's also quite progressive, despite its more traditional conservative roots. Indeed, I am certain it is the only religious sect to have an openly gay bishop, and also boasts quite a few female clergy.
On a hilarious side note, Benedict looks like the Emperor from Star Wars.
In all honesty, I haven't delved deeply into Catholic teaching since my last religion course at CUA 3 years ago. But, I think Catholic theology has changed and needs to continue to do so, not just to "get with the times," but to remain relevant to the broadening scope of human knowledge. I'm not talking about changing core beliefs, only how those beleiefs are taught and how they apply to what we now know about the human expereince. Pope Benedict XVI is infamous for punishing progressive theologians. Sometime back in my freshman or sophomore year I wrote a piece about Charles Curran, who was forced out of Catholic University for his envelope-pushing theology. I may try and dig that up and post part of it.
As for changing churches, I'll have to wait and see. Did I really go through all those sacraments and CCD classes for nothing?
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